Swisspreneur Show

Timestamps: 7:30 - Impact vs profit maximizing 19:48 - The price of saying no to investors and customers 25:17 - How bootstrapping vs VC funding impact speed and focus 30:54 - Defining success: short global impact story vs sustainable and long-term growth  This episode was produced by Founders Hive, a community of successful startup founders, industry experts, and investors promoting entrepreneurs...

Timestamps : 3:05 - From burning out from the 9-5 to becoming an entrepreneur 8:33 - Scaling properti to an industry leader in 5 years 14:00 - How Levent’s role shifted throughout properti’s growth 22:11 - What’s next for properti This episode was sponsored by infinity.swiss , Switzerland’s most advanced AI accounting tool. Save 25% by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checkout. Episode Summary: In ou...

Timestamps: 2:23 - The story behind Google Clouds Founder Story 8:45 - Uber’s pre-IPO hypergrowth 25:19 - Is Switzerland Good at Adopting AI?  44:29 - How Swiss founders can expand into the US This episode was sponsored by Google Cloud . Join their The Founder's Story event on December 4th to hear an exclusive panel discussion with visionary leaders sharing what it takes to go from building compan...

Timestamps: 4:58 - Diversity in tech: challenges and opportunities 6:08 - Recruiting challenges in tech 13:00 - Supporting girls in STEM This episode was sponsored by Google Cloud . Join their Founder's Story event on December 4th to hear an exclusive panel discussion with visionary leaders sharing what it takes to go from building companies to funding them. Link is in the bio! This episode wa...

Timestamps: 3:30 - Identifying a market gap in legal tech  10:06 - What is “smart money” after all? 16:22 - How do you go from researcher to CEO? 25:55 - The biggest risk for every scaleup 36:20 - Is Switzerland a hotbed for AI? This episode was co-produced by SICTIC , the leading angel investor network in Switzerland. This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading th...

Timestamps: 6:38 The birth of Cradle  21:36 Convincing Skeptics and Finding Product-Market Fit 28:29 Raising Capital and Choosing the Right VCs 35:21 Europe’s missed opportunities (and how to fix them) Episode Summary: Stef Van Grieken , CEO and Co-founder of Cradle , the AI biotech startup helping scientists design better proteins in record time and pioneering the intersection of AI and biology,...

Timestamps 04:53 - Product-Led vs. Sales-Led Growth 14:22 - How to Educate a Slow-Moving Market 24:43 - Sales Metrics in a product vs sale- led approach 34:16 - Choosing between product-led or sales-led This episode was produced by Founders Hive — a community of founders, experts, and investors driving entrepreneurship in Switzerland. We support early-stage startups in becoming investment-ready an...

Timestamps: 05:45 - From Scientist to Startup CEO 16:23 - Winning the Industries Trust With Data 28:33 - The Hidden Cost of Scaling Too Fast 47:31 - The Hard Truth About Going Public Episode Summary: Jurgi Camblong is the Co-Founder and CEO of SOPHiA GENETICS , a Swiss company using data-driven medicine to empower healthcare professionals worldwide. With a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Univers...

Timestamps: 05:55 - From Lab Work to Startup Workshops 10:49 - Finding the Right Co-Founders 1 6:24 - Spinning Out of ETH and Proving the Tech 34:21 - Fundraising and Resilience This episode was co-produced with KickFund , a VC fund investing in the most promising Swiss deeptech startups. Episode Summary: ⁠Estelle Clerc ⁠ is the Co-Founder and CEO of ⁠ CellX Biosolutions ⁠, a Swiss biotech startup...

Timestamps: 6:51 - Is it possible to protect your mental health as a Founder? 20:00 - How to know when you’ve transitioned from a startup to a scale-up? 23:42 - What creates the most pressure for Founders? 35:49 - How do we build up resilience? This episode was co-produced with Innovaud , the innovation and investment promotion agency for the canton of Vaud. Episode Summary: Sahar Hosseinian , Co-...

Timestamps: 02:25 - Why Angels Invest Beyond Returns 05:40 - Spotting the Gap in Word of Mouth Marketing 10:00 - Investing in Founders, Not Just Ideas 18:48 - Scaling from Switzerland to Europe (and Beyond) This episode was co-produced by SICTIC , the leading angel investor network in Switzerland. Episode Summary: Pascal Sollberger is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Hypt , a Swiss startup helping bus...

Timestamps: 5:20 - Helping European companies set up shop in China 11:43 - SICTIC’s investment program for kids 17:57 - Building AI models to predict fundraising success 26:00 - How being a young investor changes your perspective This episode was co-produced by SICTIC , the leading angel investor network in Switzerland. This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading t...

Timestamps: 3:31 - What’s the best tech team setup? 16:05 - Using OKRs for your tech team 32:53 - The more you automate, the higher the tech debt? 37:21 - Marketing the product before you even build it This episode was originally a live webinar co-hosted with Holycode , a software development partner that's helped more than 140 startups scale by providing customized products and teams for ever...

Timestamps 12:16 — Bootstrapping mindset, MVP building, and milestone-based rounds. 17:50 — The trade-offs of bringing VCs on board versus angels. 27:58 —   Honest discussion of founder stress, cash flow, and mental health. 41:46 — Final takeaways and practical advice for first-time founders. This episode was produced by Founders Hive — a community of founders, experts, and investors driving entre...

Timestamps: 13:04 - Spotting untapped markets through first-hand pain 18:49 - Turning CO2 roadmaps into revenue models 26:06 - Building recurring revenues in a capex-heavy industry 32:16 - Why sustainability is already profitable This episode was co-produced with SEF-Growth , the Swiss Economic Forum's Growth initiative to support Swiss startups and SMEs with growth plans free of charge. Check...

Timestamps 00:00 – Tour of Andreas’ self-built "culinary village" (bakery, guesthouse, fermentation lab). 08:05 – The startup struggle: Bootstrapping with 4 people and sleeping in the restaurant. 13:22 – Losing his co-founder/girlfriend: Why he almost quit (but didn’t). 19:06 – Monetization secrets: Licensing deals, Hublot/Audi partnerships, and why "brands need stories." 22:35...

Timestamps: 9:00 – What Is Venture Kick and Kickfund? 12:55 – Why Wanja Joined Kickfund  18:45 – Why Founders & Investors Love Kickfund  27:05 – The Long-Term Vision This episode was co-produced with KickFund , a VC fund investing in the most promising Swiss deeptech startups. Check out the link in the bio/comments to learn more about them! Episode summary: Wanja Humanes is the CEO of Kickfund...

Timestamps: 02:02 — Why Eric quit finance to create instead of comply. 04:20 — Investor Brain as a Founder: 70+ angel deals, stakeholder management, and Switzerland’s funding “missing middle.” 12:50 — Flow > Busywork: How Eric engineers flow states to work efficiently 16:25 — Why Holistic exists: Root-cause care for chronic conditions vs. longevity/prevention hype. 27:40 — A business model that...

Timestamps: 6:00 – Deciding between chasing investor money vs. revenues from day one 29:42 – How founder pressure differs across funding strategies (runway vs. cash-flow anxiety) 37:22 – Can a bootstrapped startup realistically become a market leader? 35:10 – In what scenario would they switch financing strategies? This episode was produced by Founders Hive — a community of founders, experts, and...

Timestamps: 03:14 - What even is “operations”? 7:57 - Should OKRs be set top-down or bottom-up? 17:05 - Top 3 key KPIs for early stage startups 26:00 - How to focus on fundraising without losing traction  43:26 - What happens when you don’t have your finances in order?  This episode was originally a live webinar co-hosted with Holycode , a software development partner that's helped more than 1...

Timestamps: 6:00 - Tackling the early detection of sepsis  17:17 - Why obsess over hard challenges? 27:41 - Marketing a new biomarker  34:20 - Expanding and delegating to distributors   This episode was co-produced with Innovaud , the innovation and investment promotion agency for the canton of Vaud. About Patrick Pestalozzi & François Capel: Patrick Pestalozzi is a former management consultan...

Timestamps: 2:30 - What makes a startup attractive to VCs? 7:44 - Why VC money isn’t for everyone 16:40 - What if the VC tells you no? 21:00 - What is “vibe coding”? 24:25 - When VCs decide to invest This episode was originally a live conversation which took place at startup days 2025, in Bern. Check out startup days to learn about next year's event! Click here to order your copy of “Swiss Sta...

Timestamps: 8:30 - The problem in VA that CREAL is tackling 15:10 - VA as the future  34:45 - What’s next for CREAL after closing another funding round 46:45 - Why don't we see more Swiss startups becoming global category leaders? This episode was co-produced by SICTIC , the leading angel investor network in Switzerland. Click  ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠ ⁠ to order your copy of “Swiss Startups” today. Episode Summ...

Timestamps 3:52 - Past failures that paved the way for success 9:12 - Shifting from finance, to vocation training, to retrofitting luminaries  13:57 How Lumvin found a swiss-based cheaper, faster, and sustainable way to upgrade luminaries 32:28 Tips for driving sales in Switzerland 37:14 - Winning the Swiss Economic Award This episode was co-produced with SEF.Growth , the Swiss Economic Forum'...

Timestamps: 2:50 - Building a cloud-native API-first product 5:28 - How will AI change banking? 12:14 - The big regulatory beast 25:24 - Amnis’ growth challenges This episode was sponsored by infinity.swiss , Switzerland’s most advanced AI accounting tool. Save 25% by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checkout. Click  here⁠ to order your copy of “Swiss Startups” today. About Michael Wüst: Michael Wüst...